East Timor: undersea wealth

East Timor is nervous about the result of Australia’s recent federal elections in which the conservative John Howard was re-elected for a fourth term as prime minister. The Pacific’s imperial power has grabbed the offshore oil fields of the poorest country and continues to reject international arbitration.

by Jean-Pierre Catry

KOFI ANNAN, the United Nations secretary general, told the Security Council this year that: “Limited revenue and widespread poverty within the country continue to pose severe constraints on Timor-Leste’s social and economic development. Benefits from the development of the country’s mineral (...)